Addiewell: scandal of the forgotten village - Part 2

The old schools and the Hen Hut

The old schools and the Hen Hut

Second part of a report by Joyce Summers on Addiewell’s troubles, that appeared in the Lothian Courier in November 1976.

Another major headache is the proposed £366,000 Combined Addiewell Primary School and Community Wing which was originally planned for 1973/74. The school is to replace the two present primary schools in the village – Public and Catholic.

concerned that it's to be non-denominational

It was delayed originally because some villagers were concerned by the fact that it is to be non-denominational. In June this year, the Steering Committee were told that work would start in September but in fact, even now, the Lothian Regional Council are still negotiating with the Scottish Education Department.

‘We desperately need the new school and the community wing’, commented Mrs Rachel O’Byrne, Committee Secretary. ‘The present public school is about 100 years old and the roof is in a shocking state – some council workers have even refused to go on it.’

The planned Community Wing is just as important as the new school, for there are simply no existing amenities for the village’s 1,500 population. The Community Hall is nothing more than a tiny, two-roomed prefabricated hut, once destined to be the bowling green pavilion.

‘The place is totally inadequate, ‘ said Mrs O’Byrne, ‘It’s worse than nothing - I think youngsters just get frustrated meeting here when they see what other places have.’

the Hen Hut

Apart from being rather on the small size, ‘the hen hut’ (as the Community Hall is nicknamed) has no kitchen facilities except for a cooker, no storage space, and has been visited by the local graffiti artists - and to add to it all, clubs have recently been charged 50p an hour for the privilege of using it.

There’s a long list of organisations looking for somewhere more suitable to meet, including the Youth Club, the Playgroup, the Ladies Social Club, the Gala Day Committee, the O.A.P.A., the Catholic Mothers, the Church Guild and the Women’s Guild. Once, when the village was a thriving mining community, it had a number of sports amenities - a bowling green, a cricket ground and a football pitch.

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